‘Fasting until 2pm’: The pre-race diet mistake this pizza chef is making

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Economos, N. (2026, October 10). ‘Fasting until 2pm’: The pre-race diet mistake this pizza chef is making. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/fasting-until-2pm-the-pre-race-diet-mistake-this-pizza-chef-is-making-20261011-p611go.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

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The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-10 · by Nicole Economos

Quick Summary

Chef Jake Smyth, 44, details her pre-ultra-marathon diet, fasting until 2 PM and consuming a mix of foods including pizza with nduja and stracciatella, tuna crackers, beef stroganoff, and dark chocolate. Nutritionist Dr. Joanna McMillan advises that while acknowledging the shift to easily digestible carbohydrates before endurance events, Jake’s late start to eating may result in insufficient carb intake for such a long race. She recommends increasing carbohydrate-rich foods like toast or pasta leading up to the event.

Written by AI on 2026-10-10, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Jake Smyth, a 44-year-old chef at Mary’s Hot Pizza in Sydney, detailed his unusual diet ahead of his first ultra-marathon. He starts fasting from early morning until 2pm, breaking it with slices of the restaurant's signature pizza pie. Nutritionist Dr Joanna McMillan advises against this routine before an endurance event, suggesting a higher intake of easily digestible carbohydrates to maximize energy stores instead. Smyth’s day includes meals like rice crackers with tuna and beans, beef stroganoff with white rice, and ends with Lindt dark chocolate and peanut butter for dinner. The expert suggests focusing more on carbohydrate-rich foods such as toast, bananas, pasta, or crumpets in the days leading up to the race to ensure optimal performance.

Written for “Pre Race Diet Mistakes” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Pre Race Diet Mistakes

Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

61/100

The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

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Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5766 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Nicole Economos

7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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2026-10-10 · assertive framing · ‘Fasting until 2pm’: The pre-race diet mistake this pizza chef is making

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 7 articles by Nicole Economos →

Topics

Lindt Mary’s Hot & Cold pizza Mary’s Hot Pizza Sodii Vital Greens

Subjects

Jake Smyth PERSON · 2× Joanna McMillan PERSON · 1× Lindt ORG · 1× Mary PERSON · 1× Mary’s Hot & Cold pizza ORG · 1× Mary’s Hot Pizza ORG · 1× Mayver ORG · 1× Sunday Life ORG · 1× Sydney GPE · 1×

Narrative

Why don’t you try … Putting the fasting routine aside for the day or two before an ultra-marathon and spreading familiar carbohydrate-rich foods across the day; toast, bananas, rice, pasta or crumpets, for example.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-10

🔮 5.30pm Rice crackers with tuna, cannellini beans and salad greens, with mayo because I’m not a psycho

2026-10-10 · The Sydney Morning Herald

‘Fasting until 2pm’: The pre-race diet mistake this pizza chef is making · assertive framing

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

The 44-year-old shares her day on a plate. asserted

old → share → plate

I wake early to get the doughs on at Mary’s Hot Pizza. asserted

doughs → wake → Pizza

I fast until mid-afternoon. asserted

I → fast → afternoon

I know to purists this technically breaks my fast, but it tastes good. asserted

it → know → fast

Slice of Mary’s Hot & Cold pizza pie, which we top with tomato sugo, nduja, stracciatella and chives. asserted

we → top → sugo

5.30pm Rice crackers with tuna, cannellini beans and salad greens, with mayo because I’m not a psycho asserted

I → ’m → mayo

Did I mention I am running my first ultra-marathon tomorrow? asserted

I → mention → marathon

This means I get to eat lots of carbs. asserted

I → mean → carbs

Dr Joanna McMillan says: Top marks for … Recognising that the day before a major endurance event calls for a different approach. asserted

day → say → approach

I’d normally be encouraging more fibre-rich whole plant foods, but pre-race the priority shifts to easily digested carbohydrate to top up glycogen stores while keeping gut residue lower – useful when gut symptoms are so common in athletes. If you keep eating like this you’ll … Possibly reach the start line with less fuel on board than you think. uncertain

you → encourage → board

Despite the pizza pie and rice, fasting until 2pm leaves surprisingly few opportunities to eat enough carbohydrate for such a long event, although portion sizes obviously make a big difference. asserted

sizes → fast → difference

you → try → example

Get the best of Sunday Life magazine delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning. asserted

best → get → inbox

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